MIDI music files

All of the following MIDI files have been entered by myself, most of
them using the software “Cakewalk apprentice”. I believe
none of them has a copyright pending (classical music pieces are, of
course, too old for that, and the ones I composed myself I put in the
public domain).

All these files use Roland's General Sound patches; but generally it
makes no difference if they are played with General Midi patches (they
are more standard — the mail difference is that
“orchestra” becomes “orchestra hit” which is
not quite right). My music card is Creative AWE32, and these files
will probably sound best with it, but they will certainly sound OK
with the Gravis Ultrasound or similar cards. If you have a non-AWE
SoundBlaster card, I would advise using timidity (and a fast computer)
to play the files through the DSP: using the FM synthesizer chip, no
matter how smart your patches can be (and even if you have an OPL-3)
will just not sound right. In fact, it will sound awful.

These files are “General MIDI”, that is, they use the full
16 channels, with the 10th channel for drums. So if you use
Creative's play utility (on MS-DOS), remember to set the
environment variables correctly for that.

Classical music

Arch-famous

If you haven't heard these already you must have been spending your
life on a desert island somewhere - or perhaps do you live on Mars.

The Pachelbel Canon (6′46″,
36.3k) —
Here is Yet Another Version of this very famous piece of
music, the D-dur kanon by Johann Pachelbel.
This is a rather romantic version of it, that would probably not have
pleased Pachelbel himself; but then I never managed to find a true
baroque score of this piece.

The Wedding March (2′01″,
6.6k) —
This is the Hochzeitsmarsch taken from Felix
Mendelssohn-Bartholdy's music for Shakespeare's
Midsummer-Night's Dream (Musik zu
Shakespeare's Sommernachtstraum), two-hand piano version,
played here on the organ.

Pomp and Circumstance
(1′23″, 4.3k) —
This is Edward Elgar's first Pomp and Circumstance military march,
also known as Land of Hope and Glory, or sometimes just as “that
english theme”. This is a rather edited version of it where I have
the winds play the theme first and the strings afterward (that sounds
better on most music systems).

An Elise (3′46″, 7.5k) —
This is Ludwig van Beethoven's An Elise piano
piece. I followed very faithfully the original score here.

Turkish March (3′02″, 15.9k)
—
This is Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Rondo alla
Turca (from one of his piano sonate). This also follows very
closely the original score, but with a few midi goodies (such as
changing the kind of piano when the theme changes).

Greensleeves to a Ground
(6′12″, 59.8k) —
The famous variations on the popular song Greensleeves
played as a canon on many different instruments, and with an ostinato.
Note that this is not Ralph Vaughan William's (also very famous)
Fantasy on Greensleeves.

Prelude in C major (1′37″,
3.7k) —
Johann Sebastian Bach's arch-famous prelude in C major, first of book
1 of the Wohltemperiertes Klavier
(Well-Tempered Clavier). Follows the exactly the
original score, and played on the piano.

Rule Britannia! (1′25″,
8.5k) —
Another famous “english theme”, the english (as opposed to
british) national anthem, in fact, I believe. The composer is Thomas
Augustine Arne (1710–1778), and it is taken from his ballet
Alfred. I transcribed a score which is probably quite
“authentic” whatever that means. Anyway, this is rather
different from Origin's Ultima version of this music.

Less famous

Dead March (4′04″, 12.0k)
—
Marcia Funebre sulla Morte d'un Eroe, from one
of Ludwig van Beethoven's piano sonate. This is quite well-known, but
probably not nearly as much as Frédéric Chopin's similar
piece.

(Beginning of) Tannhäuser's Overture
(2′17″, 13.6k) —
This is a very faithful transcription of the first few bars of the
overture of Richard Wagner's Tannhäuser
opera, with a pretty complete symphonic orchestra playing (so your
music system had better be up to it!). Unfortunately, I got fed up of
entering this score pretty soon so it ends rather abruptly. But what
is there is really worth listening to.

Notturno (0′46″, 1.5k)
—
For those who know only the Wedding March (see above) of Felix
Mendelssohn-Bartholdy's Sommernachtstraum, I suggest listening to this
thoroughly beautiful notturno. Just close your eyes, think about the
moon, and relax. Unfortunately, this midi file is also incomplete
(but it does not end too abruptly). This is the two-hand piano
transcription.

Two-Part Invention n.14
(1′16″, 4.0k) —
Johann Sebastian Bach's Two-Part Invention number 14, follows exactly
the original score, and played on the harpsichord.

Two-Part Invention n.4 (1′00″,
3.3k) —
Johann Sebastian Bach's Two-Part Invention number 4, follows exactly
the original score, and played on the harpsichord.

Two-Part Invention n.6 (0′42″,
2.1k) —
Johann Sebastian Bach's Two-Part Invention number 6, follows exactly
the original score, and played on the piano.

Prelude in D major (1′18″,
4.6k) —
Johann Sebastian Bach's prelude in D major, from book 1 of the Wohltemperiertes Klavier (Well-Tempered
Clavier). Follows the exactly the original score, and played
on the organ. This is the sort of piece which makes me agree with
Colette's nickname for Bach: divine machine à
coudre (divine sewing machine).

Ariel's song (1′22″, 5.2k)
—
This song accompanies Shakespeare's Tempest
(“Ariel: Full fathom five thy father lies”, act I, scene
2). I found it in the Oxford edition of the play.

Signor Abbate (1′17″, 2.5k)
—
This is canon by Ludwig van Beethoven (uncertain); it's supposed to be
a song but I play it on the clarinet, violin and cello here.

Les Baricades Mystérieuses
(2′29″, 5.7k) —
This is one of the many harpsichord pieces by François
Couperin. It is called Les Baricades
Mystérieuses. Normally I don't really like baroque
musique, but I make a special exception for Bach, Händel and
Couperin.

La Castelmore (3′55″,
15.1k) —
This is another harpsichord piece, this one by Claude-Béninge
Balbastre.

Suite (2′27″, 5.9k) —
This is the Allemande (I think) from Johann
Sebastian Bach's French Suite number 2.

Dance (1′05″, 4.2k) —
This is the dance of the Elves of Mendelssohn's Sommernachtstraum.
Unfinished.

Pomp and Circumstance n.4
(1′16″, 7.1k) —
In case you didn't know, there's more to Elgar's Pomp and
Circumstance marches than number one, above. Here is number 4,
in the same style, but much less famous.

Music I composed...

...so you should expect it to be barely listenable, and very
repetitive...

Poem to Nature (2′09″, 6.6k)
—
This piece is composed in the pentatonic mode (because it's much
easier to compose something that doesn't sound too bad in that mode
when one is, like I am, totally ignorant of music).

Gil-Galad's Tune (0′31″, 2.0k)
—
This is the way I imagine the music of the song “Gil-Galad was an
Elven King” in Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings.

Music I would like identified

I don't know what these are, they were themes I kept hearing in my
head, and which I couldn't identify. I don't think I composed them
because I'm uncapable of writing anything that nice. However, I did
orchestrate them and that is why we have these beautiful themes with a
ridiculous orchestration (or none at all).

Anyhow, if somebody can tell me what these are, he will earn my
eternal gratitude.

Majestic Theme (1′21″,
4.7k) —
I really like this one. It sounds like the music one would
play when a king enters the room.

Unknown Tune (1′12″, 3.6k)
—
I have no idea what this one is. Somehow it sounds like a kind of
counterpoint to the previous one.